Pats Posits: 2019 Draft Recap

The Patriots wrapped up their 2019 draft this weekend and unfortunately due to all kinds of personal craziness, including Endgame and GOT, I haven’t been able to sit down and bang a blog out until right now. It was tough, especially with redacted dying.

In truth, this is my favorite part of the draft now — when the Pats have their collection of draft picks and undrafted signings and I can dive in on each of them with purpose.

Instead of going through player-by-player, at this point I feel like I just need to get my reactions all off my chest so what better way to do that than with a bunch of Monday morning Posits.

— I hit N’Keal Harry on my mock draft and all of the first three picks on my Top 50 Big Board. Harry, along with JoeJuan Williams and Chase Winovch are all easy fits. As I wrote, Harry could step right in and play a significant role. No other draft pick is more easy to project.

— Cornerback was already a point of strength for this Patriots roster and adding Williams does seem a bit like overkill. But what’s apparent is that the team now values the secondary far more than they did in the first decade. Look back at who they were drafting at CB from 2008-2010. Guys like Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite wouldn’t even be close to making the 2019 Pats. Now, they have every kind of cornerback you could want. An elite shutdown. An ascending and aggressive second-year. A versatile veteran. An underrated slot guy. And behind each of them, the second level of the depth chart is still better than what they were rolling out there from 2008-2012.

— Williams gives them a tall presence and it will be interesting to see what matchups they use him for. Will he take some of Patrick Chug’s tight end coverage duties, lessening the load on the valuable veteran? He sure looks and sounds the part and with Gilmore due a ton of money next year who knows what might happen if Williams and J.C. Jackson plays up to their potential.

— How will it all flush out at corner? We don’t have to know right now, but they are well insulated against injuries and wow, this whole secondary is as good as it gets in the NFL.

— Winovich is another promising young edge player, who I see kind of like a wild horse that will need to be tamed. What’s unquestionable is that Winovich will bring the same kind of “presence” I wanted to get out of this draft. He plays like a madman with relentless effort. That can hurt him at times so it will be a process, especially for a front that has plenty of “read-and-react” tactics. We saw the problems the Pats had in 2017 setting the edge, forcing them to bring in James Harrison. Winovich can set the edge and that’s worth a ton, even if he’s not the most explosive athlete in the draft. And I love having another ‘ovich on the team. Miss u Ninko.

— Together, Harry and Winovich are slam dunk A-plus picks for the Patriots. The team needed an infusion of energy and both players have that in spades. Both the offense and the defense will get a boost of energy and football passion at positions of need.

— The spots I missed on my big board were the positions I didn’t see has huge needs. So, running back Damien Harris, guard Hjalte Froholdt and, gasp, punter Jacob Bailey all slipped through the cracks, Harris is a hard-charger and the kind of Michel-esque running back they look for on first and second down. He has a pretty good shot at a roster spot depending on when Rex Burkhead gets injured again. Let’s not forget they had to play Cordarrelle Patterson at running back last season, so the need was real and neither Michel nor Burkhead have an inspiring injury history.

— Not a huge big board miss on Byron Cowart, the classic kind of guy who looks the part but just hasn’t put it all together that the Pats always take chances on. The need for a third defensive tackle is real (where did Vincent Valentine go?), so Cowart has a real chance to make the team. He has the prototypical inside size, with long arms.

— Aside from Harry, tackle Yodney Cajuste might have the best chance to play a significant role this year. With the departures of two tackles this offseason, Marcus Cannon was the only sure thing left. Now Cajuste, Isaiah Wynn, and Cole Croston will try to fill those two voids — starting left tackle and swing backup tackle. Cajuste has the physical traits and like any promising but rough-around-the-edges offensive lineman, I’m excited to see what Dante Scarnecchia can do with him.

— Jarrett Stidham had a great 2017 and a not-so-great 2018 with a lesser supporting cast. Stidham has the traits — smart, athletic and tough, but he didn’t look ready to put them all together a senior. Now, he enters the best quarterback room in the world and gets a chance to soak up everything he can from Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer and even Danny Etling. At this point I’m all for throwing any quarterback they can at the wall. Brady had similar questions about him entering the league and got a year to figure it out. Stidham should have at least a year and watching him compete with Etling will be one of the most interesting aspects of training camp.

— I just can’t get over that Belichick traded up in the fifth round to select a punter he didn’t even really need. Jacob Bailey has the leg but is not a left-legger like Belichick has employed for over a decade. I enjoyed watching Cory Bojorquez last summer, he could boom it but was really erratic at times. Could they even get Bailey on the practice squad if he loses to Allen? I love the rest of the draft enough to just laugh at this pick. I’m fascinated to see how it plays out.

— The nearly-untouched need is of course tight end. We all were dreaming about Noah Fant and Irv Smith Jr. but the Patriots did not select a single tight end. They did sign a rookie free agent though, Andrew Beck a captain and blocking tight end. I really think Ryan Izzo is a guy who needs to be talked, but with no slam dunk pick to pencil into the depth chart, it’s clear that the competition at tight end is wide open for the first time in forever. Gronk/Hernandez, Ben Watson, Daniel Graham… tight ends have really been a defining position of the dynasty until now.

Tons more to dive into, but today the 2019 Patriots are far clearer than they were a week ago. There are definitely still some big questions, new questions, just like there always are. The Pats needed some new life in the draft and though they didn’t fill perceived needs, they added a bunch of prospects that are just what they needed.